John Eastman, former lawyer to Donald Trump, speaks to members of the media after leaving the State Bar Court of California in Los Angeles, California, US, on Tuesday, June 20, 2023.
Eric Thayer | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Attorney John Eastman on Monday was ordered to pay a $100,000 bond in the Georgia criminal case where he is accused of conspiring to overturn former President Donald Trump‘s loss in the state’s 2020 election, a court filing shows.
Eastman’s charges relate to his alleged post-election efforts to use fake slates of pro-Trump electors to challenge President Joe Biden‘s legitimate Electoral College victory. He is charged in Georgia alongside Trump and 17 other co-defendants in a 41-count indictment returned by an Atlanta grand jury last week.
Eastman himself faces nine counts, including one count of racketeering and six counts of criminal conspiracy. He is also accused of one count of criminal solicitation and one count of filing false documents.
The bond for the racketeering charge was set at $20,000, while Eastman’s remaining charges each carry a $10,000 bond, according to the court filing in Fulton County Superior Court.
The consent bond order, signed by Judge Scott McAfee, requires Eastman to pre-trial supervision by phone every 30 days, and prohibits him from speaking about the facts of the case with any co-defendants or witnesses.
It also warns that Eastman “shall perform no act to intimidate” any witness or co-defendant “or to otherwise obstruct the administration of justice.”
Eastman and the 18 other defendants face a Friday deadline to surrender in Georgia. A consent bond order can be crafted in advance of a defendant’s surrender so that they are not held in jail while the conditions of their release are worked out.
David Wolfe, a lawyer for Eastman who signed the consent bond order, in a phone call would not explicitly tell CNBC when his client will surrender in Georgia.
Harvey Silverglate, another of Eastman’s attorneys, told CNBC that he expected Eastman would not surrender by Monday — but he assured that his client will do so before the deadline.
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.